The Gambia has demanded a “credible” investigation after the son of a diplomat was shot dead by US police.

Thirty-nine-year-old Momodou Lamin Sisay was shot after a car chase in Georgia on Friday morning, according to the preliminary investigation by Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI). He was pronounced dead on the scene. The police said he had produced a  gun. The shooting comes amid widespread protests after a US police officer killed George Floyd last week. 

Georgia investigators said that at approximately 03:49 in the morning, a police officer in Snellville, Georgia attempted to stop his vehicle but the vehicle did not stop, and a pursuit ensued. “Officers approached the vehicle and gave verbal commands for the driver to show his hands. The driver did not comply… the driver pointed a handgun at the officers. Officers fired at the driver and pulled back to take cover behind their patrol vehicles,” investigators said.

A Swat team was called and “during the standoff, the driver pointed his weapon and fired at the SWAT officers. One GCPD SWAT officer fired his weapon”, they added. Lare Sisay, the victim’s father who works at the United Nations, said the police did not do enough to peacefully resolve the situation, and also disputed that he had a gun, according to local media.(BBC)…[+]

Wildlife officials in India are investigating the death of a pregnant elephant after it ate a pineapple containing firecrackers. The incident in Kerala caused outrage after a forest official posted about the death on social media.

It’s unclear if it was an accident, who planted the explosives or why. The animal spent days in pain before dying.

Vets tried but failed to save her. India has some 27,000 wild elephants and another 2,500 in captivity. The Kerala forest department said on Thursday that “several suspects” were being questioned in connection with the incident. It earlier said there was no “conclusive evidence” to link the death to firecrackers. Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said the government had taken a “serious note of the killing” and tweeted that it would investigate.(BBC)…[+]

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has declared a state of emergency after 20,000 tonnes of diesel oil leaked into a river within the Arctic Circle. The spill happened when a fuel tank at a power plant near the Siberian city of Norilsk collapsed last Friday. President Putin expressed anger after discovering officials only learnt about the incident two days later. The plant is owned by a subsidiary of Norilsk Nickel, which is the world’s leading nickel and palladium producer. And in a televised video conference on Wednesday, Mr Putin lambasted the head of the company over its response.

“Why did government agencies only find out about this two days after the fact?” he asked the subsidiary’s chief, Sergei Lipin. “Are we going to learn about emergency situations from social media?” The region’s governor, Alexander Uss, had earlier told President Putin that he became aware of the oil spill on Sunday after “alarming information appeared in social media”. It has contaminated a 350 sq km (135 sq mile) area, state media report. Mr Putin has ordered an investigation into the accident and a manager at the power plant has since been detained.(BBC)…[+]